The Kane County Cougars (1-0) took the lead in the bottom of the second and made it stick behind a great outing by Jen-Ho Tseng. The Cougars took game one from the Lake County Captains (0-1) 4-3 on Wednesday night.

In today’s edition of Minor Happenings, the IBI's Tony Lastoria takes a look at the tremendous second half from Low-A Lake County right-handed pitcher Mitch Brown and first baseman Nellie Rodriguez. They were the big keys to the team’s second half turnaround, and he looks into their improvement not only in their performance but as prospects as well. He also provides several comments from the front office on recently called up players Jesus Aguilar, Austin Adams, Bryan Price as well as some thoughts on the rookie level AZL Indians championship season along with some interesting comments and comps on some key players there.

Nellie Rodriguez scored on an error in the bottom of the eighth inning and the Captains went on to beat the Fort Wayne TinCaps 5-4 to clinch a spot in the Midwest League Championship series. The Captains will be playing in their second MWL Championship Series in team history. The Captains won the title in 2010.

The Lake County Captains (1-0) fell behind 1-0 in the first inning but did not let that scare them. They scored five unanswered runs in the next two innings to go along with a stellar pitching performance by lefty Luis Lugo. The Captains took game one of the Eastern Division Championship Series from the Fort Wayne Tincaps (0-1) 5-1 on Saturday night.

In today’s Minor Happenings piece, the IBI's Tony Lastoria looks at the outstanding finish to the season for Short-A Mahoning Valley second baseman Steven Patterson and looks at what kind of prospect he is for the Indians. He also breaks down Low-A Lake County left-handed pitcher Luis Lugo’s season and prospect standing, and provides tons of interesting comments from the front office on things like Francisco Lindor’s timeline, the growth of Erik Gonzalez into a legit shortstop prospect, Danny Salazar’s recovery from an early season setback and more.

The Akron RubberDucks and Columbus Clippers reversed fortunes Thursday, with both teams ending the night with their series tied 1-1 after a RubberDucks win and a Clippers loss. The Lake County Captains stayed consistent, however, winning their second game in a row to advance to the next round of the playoffs. Join Jim Piascik as he recaps all of the playoff action, including Nellie Rodriguez powering the Captains to victory, as he takes you Around the Farm.

The Lake County Captains (2-0) scored seven runs to take the lead and they made it stick as they took game 2 on Thursday night 7-2. The Captains swept the South Bend Silver Hawks in two games to punch their ticket to the Eastern Division Finals.

This weekly feature piece here at the IBI specifically looks at some of the prospects that have maybe not had as much attention they deserve for a variety of reasons but who are interesting or are coming onto the scene. This week the IBI's Tony Lastoria takes a look at right-handed reliever Trevor Frank, a backend arm who has had a lot of success early in his pro career and a key member of the Low-A Lake County pitching staff this season. What kind of prospect is he? What does he throw? What kind of future does he have? Tony provides all the details...

Only one game truly mattered this past week and the Lake County Captains made it count. On Wednesday, the team sealed the first of a three-game series against the South Bend Silver Hawks to gain an edge in the first round of the Midwest League playoffs. The IBI's Stephanie Metzger recaps what happened over the final week of the Captains’ regular season and the first game of the playoffs.

The playoffs started Wednesday night for the Columbus Clippers, Akron RubberDucks, and Lake County Captains, with two of the three teams ending the night with a win. Though it was obviously more than a one-person effort, the Clippers and Captains used big nights from an outfielder to find victory (James Ramsey and Clint Frazier, respectively), while Duke von Schamann did his best for the RubberDucks in a loss. Join Jim Piascik as he recaps all of the playoff action and takes you Around the Farm.

The Lake County Captains (1-0) pounded out 14 hits in the series opener and got a stellar start from Mitch Brown to take a 1-0 lead in the Midwest League Eastern Division Semifinals over the South Bend Silver Hawks (0-1), 6-2.

Rain may have suspended the major league club's hunt for the playoffs on Sunday Night Baseball, but the actual playoffs opened up for one team down in the minors. With the rest of the affiliates close to wrapping up their seasons, the Arizona League team kicked off their semifinal matchup Sunday. Join Arthur Kinney as he breaks down that playoff action, highlights Audy Ciriaco's big night in Columbus, and much more as he takes you Around the Farm.

The Lake County Captains (38-30, 65-73) used five homeruns to turn the tables on the Dayton Dragons (31-38, 67-70) Sunday afternoon. The Dragons beat the Captains 11-1 on Saturday and the Captains returned the favor with a 12-0 rout.

The WAR Room is back again, bringing you the 2014 advanced stats for every Cleveland minor leaguer. After looking at the pitchers last week, today we focus on the hitters, including a look at four Columbus hitters who could be September callups. Join Jim Piascik as he breaks down Jesus Aguilar, Giovanny Urshela, Francisco Lindor, and Carlos Moncrief in addition to the rest of the organization as he takes you into The WAR Room.

As the great philosopher Jagger once said: "but if you try sometimes, you just might find, you get what you need." The RubberDucks tried to clinch a playoff spot with a win last night, but despite their loss, found themselves in anyway. Join Arthur Kinney as he recaps the action in the organization, including Erik Gonzalez leading the way for the RubberDucks, and takes you Around the Farm.

The Dayton Dragons (31-37, 67-69) hammered out 16 hits and 11 runs to keep the race for the second wildcard spot alive as they defeated the Lake County Captains (37-29, 64-72) 11-1 on Saturday night. The Captains lost back-to-back games for the first time since August 2nd-August 4th when the Captains dropped three-straight games.

With the season winding down, it is time for players to try to make their final impressions on the organization before heading into the long offseason. For players like Joey Wendle (who missed a big chunk of the season due to injury), however, these final days are critical to make up for lost time. Join Arthur Kinney as he breaks down Wendle doing just that Friday and recaps the rest of the action in the organization as he takes you Around the Farm.

The Great Lakes Loons (30-36, 64-72) stayed in the race for the final playoff spot and avoided the sweep as they scored two unanswered runs in a 2-1 walk off win against the Lake County Captains (37-29, 64-72) on Friday night. Alex Santana provided the walk off single in front of a packed crowd at Dow Diamond.

In this week’s edition of Minor Happenings, the IBI's Tony Lastoria takes a look at the hot hitting Jesus Aguilar at Triple-A Columbus and just how potent his bat is, the strides he has made this season and wonders why he is not yet in Cleveland. He also takes a look at the strong pro debut from 17th round pick Cameron Hill and gives some insight into his stuff and ability, provides a ton of comments from the front office on players like Yandy Diaz, Dylan Baker, LeVon Washington and others, and more!

Available IBI Books

The 2014 Cleveland Indians Baseball Insider book featuring the Indians' Top 100 Prospects and more is now available. Also, previous editions from 2008-2012 are also available at a discounted rate. Just click on the book image for more information. Thanks again for all the support!